I'll admit that I felt an ounce of sadness the day I got rid of my toys. Sure, it's a rite of passage, but I felt that I was throwing a piece of myself away. As this illustrates, toys play a rather significant part in our lives. Because childhood is condensed with time dedicated to playing, it's easy see how someone like myself can become attached to inanimate objects like toys. Hell, they're a tool for our youthful imaginations to escape. Yet, for as idle as these toys may seem now, for the hours they occupied during my childhood they were alive. With the use of my imagination, the adventures my toys found themselves were limitless. But, most importantly, my toys, in conjunction with my ingenuity, had a life of their own. And it seems the people at Pixar felt the same way, for this has been the backbone of the "Toy Story" franchise, and is prominently on display in the opening frames of "Toy Story 3" as Andy imagines his army of toys spliced into a John Woo film.
But, for as jubilant as this moment is, it's a fleeting one as time inevitably throws it to the waste side. Andy, the owner of the lovable toys that populated "Toy Story 1" and "2", now finds himself on the cusp of adulthood as he begins his trip to college. With Andy now moving onto bigger and better things, the toys who were once firmly entrenched in his life have now found themselves confined to a toy box. And much like a person in the twilight of their life, Woody and the gang have only memories to live by as they continuously attempt to gain some relevancy in Andy's ever progressing life. Despite their efforts, the group, aside from Woody, give up and look forward to being donated. The chance of finding new playmates entices the group to the point that they start let go of their relationship with Andy. This sense of abandonment irritates Woody, but the group is too far down to bring back up. Not to mention, the toy's fates become easier to accept when they find out that only Woody was chosen to accompany Andy to college. Tension between Woody and his fellow toys inflames, but the issue doesn't come to a head until the toys, including Woody by accident, are donated to a daycare center. Once there, Woody attempts to corral all of his friends in an effort to escape, but knowing that their days are over, Buzz and the gang decide that their life will be better without Andy. Despite his hope in Andy, Woody begrudgingly leaves his friends behind.
This particular aspect is one of the many moments in the film that seems to be darker than most Pixar films. It's not often that you find a tidbit of existentialism in a kid's film, but Pixar does a fantastic job of taking these life themes and handling them with kid gloves. Or at least to the point that they're not depressing, nor over the head of the young ones. With that being said, through a series of unfortunate events, Woody, Buzz, and the gang end up preparing themselves for a prison break. Woody, who accidentally gets taken home by a little girl from the daycare, finds out that the daycare isn't what it seems. In the meantime, Buzz and the rest of Andy's toys learn that their decision to stay at the daycare may have been a mistake. The blissful life they expected at the daycare was really a mirage as each toy, aside from Buzz, is imprisoned by their daycare counterparts. With each toy's expectations being shattered, they eventually reconnect and begin the aforementioned prison break. Soon, the film becomes a toy filled version of the "The Great Escape". With an ingenious plot and many send-ups of typical prison break films, "Toy Story 3" truly shines when our favorite toys are breaking out of toy hell. Everything that comes before the breakout is great, but the film really comes together when our toys are working towards a common cause. From this emerges heartfelt and hilarious results as we race to an ending that deftly delivers some well-earned emotions.
Per usual, Pixar has crafted a genuine and creative film. But, much like what they did with their previous effort "Up", Pixar is able to take their family friendly film and create a sense of depth that adults can appreciate. More specifically, the film is peppered with visions of growing old and one's youth becoming a specter. It's a heavy notion for most kids to handle, but it's a perspective they will surely appreciate years later when they face a dilemma similar to Andy's. It's through this understanding of moving on and growing old that Pixar delivers an abundance of emotion. This is done through slightly predictable moments, but they're not cheap by any means because Pixar not only has us invested from the film's opening frame, but they've had us invested ever since the original "Toy Story" infiltrated our hearts. It's a rare feat for any studio to keep us attached to characters for so long, but with the "Toy Story" series, Pixar has kept us intertwined with these toys for nearly 15 years. Whatever happens to them might as well happen to us. They represent everything we want to be and everything we are. They're a piece of our existence, much like the very toys I ceremoniously threw away years ago. So, don't be afraid of the emotions you will feel when you watch this film. Much like Andy, we've grown old with these toys and to part with these characters is a moving experience that conjures up conflicting emotions. We're sad to see them go, but we'll cherish the memories we've had with them till the very end.
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